Publishing Icons

 

 

This week in Publishing News,

 

Reuters reported that Amazon is closing all its physical bookstores

I wonder what happened? Maybe customers didn’t like only seeing face out books of the top 100 in the store? Or perhaps customers didn’t like not taking the book away with them when they bought it, instead having to wait for it to be sent the next day. 

Or maybe it was the lack of book aware sales people or their experiences with the contactless physical shop. I wonder what they will experiment with next?

 

Publishers Weekly reports on an Industry meeting where publishers were trying to figure out what to do about the paper shortage. I reported a couple of weeks ago that Italy was dropping art books from publishing lists. But the paper shortage is biting hard and now publishers might have to change their way of business (Outmoded, some would say.) Do we really need massive print runs to get the unit price down? Booksellers have to return unsold books which then get pulped or sold to Big Bad Wolf in a cut your losses deal. Will Print On Demand be the way of the future along with a big book price rise? There may be other ways out….

 

Brandon Sanderson decided that he would have another Kickstarter. He posted it on the 2^{nd .} as a surprise. In 6 hours he surpassed his previous record and by the end of the day had passed $14 million and he has the rest of the month to go. 

How did this happen? Kickstarter author experts analysed his spectacular success. 

Give the fans what they want. Brandon has noted that his fans like book boxes. He is releasing 4 secret books next year. In the 8 months where there isn’t a book release, he will send a book box of swag related to one of his previous books. 

He gamified the launch. He is releasing the title of each book each week of the Kickstarter so that you have to keep coming back. The books are already finished and different tier rewards release different formats. Or you can go straight to premium and get everything for $500.

He has made a cool easy shared video and his fans are getting the word out. 

That’s all you need for Kickstarter success. (And being Brandon Sanderson, of course.)

 

Apparently, there is money to be made in NFT’s. Illustrators are being snapped up to produce limited-edition images for middle managers to market as NFT’s. But if the NFT bubble bursts, on the horizon lurk custom-made 3d avatars for the metaverse.

 

Victoria Strauss has joined Writer Unboxed. Her first article for them is a breakdown of the most common writing scam that gets authors every time. Surprise! We saw your little book and we want to take it to Big Publishers/ Film Directors… someone rich and famous our fee is… Victoria shares what the red flags are.

 

Who knew that Horror was the favourite of Latin America? Apparently, we like classics Down Under. 

Check out this reading infographic-What are people reading around the world?  Market your books accordingly.

And just in case you think that books are not selling, check out Book Riots reading statistics for the last two years.

 

Ruth Harris has a great article this month on how to get rejected. Before you think oh that’s easy… just check out the mistakes that authors are making that get them rejected before they send in the manuscript.

 

In The Craft Section,

 2 Great articles from Jami Gold-Nods, smiles, and frowns. How to avoid talking heads and Story focus- Character or plot?- Bookmark

18 tips on writing better sentences- Helen Bolam

Writing prompts with dream symbols- Kathy Steinemann

Cause and effect- 2 sentences to use when editing- Kahina Necaise- Bookmark

Breaking writing rules- September Fawkes

 

In The Marketing Section,

7 questions for your book marketing plan- Sandra Beckwith - Bookmark

What sells books in 2022- Kobo- Bookmark

Book marketing resources- Indie Book review

How to launch on a budget- Thomas Umstattd- Bookmark

Have you found your book marketing niche- Colleen Story

 

To Finish,

In the children’s writing world there are touchstone authors. The ones that create a genre niche so perfectly that their books are instantly iconic. So, it was a huge sadness when the news broke that Shirley Hughes has died. An extraordinary illustrator and storyteller.

Requiescant In Pace.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

I’m late with the monthly newsletter (Aaargh.) So if you want the best of my bookmarked links go on and subscribe. (You will also get a nifty mini book with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Pic: Illustration by Shirley Hughes. 

 

Looking For Happy

 

 

This week in publishing news,

Mark Williams of The New Publishing Standard reported that Storytel was having a shakeup with their founder and visionary leader Jonas Tellander stepping down unexpectedly. With uncertain times in Europe at the moment- finding a comfort book to read or listen to maybe a priority. 

 

Publishers Weekly is confident that Bologna will be back in person…however they are expecting a smaller turnout. To compensate they are expanding the children’s book fair to focus on independent publishing and educational publishing. Congratulations to the shortlisted publishers around the world for International Children’s Publisher of the year. Huia has been named in the Oceania shortlist along with Beatnik.

 

Anne R Allen has another timely look at scammers in the book industry. They keep changing their shonky practices. Please keep an eye on Writer Beware… if you get an offer of any sort, treat it with caution. Agents have been burned too.

 

Joanna Penn interviewed Craig Martell this week on tips for author success. If you have heard of the Facebook group 20 books to 50k then Craig will be a familiar name. If not, Craig runs the biggest writers conference in the world. Read /listen to this extraordinary man and his mission to empower writers.

 

Kris Rusch is another extraordinary resource for the publishing community. Her longevity in the industry and her ability to see through the murk to the realities of the publishing business make her a must-read resource. This week she looks at exclusivity deals- when they are a good thing and when they go horribly wrong.

 

Author newsletters can be a wonderful marketing tool but they often give writers a headache as they try to figure out what to put in them. Nate Hoffelder shares 8 things he learned from the Newsletter Ninja, Tammi Labrecque.

 

Colleen Story wrote this week on author mindset when it comes to book marketing. How do you approach marketing your book? Colleen writes about some easy changes that will change your marketing mindset.

 

In The Craft Section,

4 steps for second drafts- D Edwin - Bookmark

When to kill a character- Angela Ackerman- Bookmark

How to develop content for a workbook- Nina Amir- Bookmark

Flat character arcs- Lewis Jorstad

3 tips for a time bomb plot device- Becca Puglisi

 

 

In The Marketing Section,

Promote your book while watching TV- Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Book Marketing Burnout- Dave Chesson Bookmark

Unique branding for March- Penny Sansevieri- Bookmark

Promoting with a limited budget- Bookbub

Facebook ad images- Written Word Media

110 book marketing ideas- Smith Publicity

 

To Finish,

I’m in the last quarter of my current book and trying to tie up all the loose ends. This week I read an interesting article from Mythcreants on keeping the readers happy with your novel series. You don’t have to always follow the main character. Write an anthology series like Discworld or spin-off books or prequels. This article opens up a whole new drawer of ideas which is a writer’s happy place.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

It is nearly time for my monthly newsletter of the best bookmarked links. When you subscribe you also get a nifty mini book crammed with marketing notes as a thank you.

 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. 

I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.

 

Kia Kaha Ukraine. 

Reaching for a life ring.

 

 

In Publishing News this week,

 

The paper crisis in publishing is beginning to bite with Italian publishers reporting that costs for paper are beginning to make publishing some books uneconomic. Production costs have risen almost 90% compared to last year. Publishing Perspectives reports on the types of books most affected. Italian publishers are concerned for educational materials which they are guaranteed to supply, the costs of which are swallowing all their publishing budget.

 

Meanwhile, in Spain, they are tackling Book Piracy using sports technology. With an estimated 3 pirated copies for every book published something has to be done. Artificial Intelligence may just be the referee we all need on our side.

 

Penguin Random House in an altruistic move last year made books available to Libraries with easier terms than usual because everyone was in lockdown and we all needed to read more. Usually, publishers allow Libraries to buy books at very marked up prices to make up for the sales they potentially lose to library patrons. PRH announced that they are keeping their easier terms going this year. 

It can’t have anything to do with more States taking publishers to court to make them provide ebooks to libraries.

 

Another Social Media company is offering creators a revenue pool to earn from. Snapchat is introducing ads and top Snapchat creators will be able to share in the ad revenue from their stories. Streaming income for creators falls into either revenue sharing or getting a fixed price from a fixed sum of money-e.g. Kindle Unlimited monthly pool of money. The downside of this model is the more creators the less money you can earn. 

 

Kris Rusch has been mulling over exclusivity and what it means to creators. Do the tradeoffs make it worthwhile. What about when the contracts change? An interesting beginning to a new series from Kris on the business of writing.

 

If you get the chance to watch the Beatles documentary by Peter Jackson, it is a fascinating insight into the creative process of the four members of the band. Dan Blank pulls out 23 lessons on creativity from the documentary. 

 

Reedsy has a comprehensive list of all the novel writing software out there that you might like to try out.

 

Victoria Thompson has published over fifty novels and she breaks down the two most asked questions that authors get. Points if you guess what they are. (Children’s authors may have a different set of questions… How old are you being one of the most asked by children.)

 

Barbara Probst puts on her reader's hat and analyses 5 recent books to see if they follow the ‘rules’ that writers are supposed to follow.ie hook and compelling stakes in the first few pages. She found that they didn’t follow that at all but explored character development instead. An interesting article.

 

In The Craft Section,

5 tips for writing memoir-Rachel Thompson

How to turn your short story into a novel- Roz Morris

3 tips for describing characters- Bang 2 Write

How writers can mine emotions with music-  C S Lakin- Bookmark

Author voice vs Narrator voice -September Fawkes- Bookmark

Tips for creating a bestselling title- Margie Lawson - Bookmark 

 

In The Marketing Section,

6 benefits of good website design- Barb Drozdowich

Booktok for book marketing-Sandra Beckwith- Bookmark

Clever ideas for promoting sequels- Bookbub- Bookmark

How to market an eBook- Reedsy (comprehensive)

Not all book marketing services are created equal- Penny Sansevieri

 

To Finish,

I recently read a Writer Unboxed article on the importance of writing truth for yourself. John J Kelley- Writing Truth in the era of falsehood. This article particularly resonated with me as our city is partially gridlocked by a large protest around our parliament. The protestors are demanding freedom but are denying the rights of others around them while they protest. They want the freedom to not be vaccinated, to not wear masks and to go back to life the way it was. Their rhetoric is filled with conspiracy and hate and is quite worrying. How did so many people lose sight of the science and truth of the pandemic? While they chant for individual freedom- the rest of us are taking our responsibilities seriously towards others more vulnerable than ourselves. We are getting vaccinated and wearing masks and living a careful life in a pandemic. Sometimes the negativity can drown us. Writing a truth can be a life ring in uncertain times.

 

Maureen

@craicer

 

Do you want the best of my bookmarked links in a handy monthly newsletter? When you subscribe you will also get a nifty mini book crammed full with marketing notes as a thank you. 

If you like the blog and want to shout me a coffee, hit the coffee button up top or here. I appreciate the virtual coffee love. Thanks.